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I just can't get behind either the Surface or Macbook Pro. I had a Macbook that my wife has taken over and I'm currently rockin' an Asus ultrabook that has a 15

by jetti 10y ago

I just can't get behind either the Surface or Macbook Pro. I had a Macbook that my wife has taken over and I'm currently rockin' an Asus ultrabook that has a 15" screen. I love the bigger screens and 13" is just way to small for me. For the price of a Surface Book I could get a Dell/HP/Lenovo with a 15" screen, 32GB of memory and a large SSD.

ghaff 10y ago
It's a function of how you use your computer. I travel a lot and find 13" is a pretty good compromise between portability and usability. No way would I travel with a 15". I do sometimes just go with a small Asus Flip Chromebook but with the knowledge that I can't use it for everything.
- jetti 10y ago
  I think it also depends on how you travel. I have a 4 hour commute each day but it is on the train. I'm lucky enough to be at the first stop each way so I typically get a seat and the train is typically empty enough so I get a seat to myself. Because of that I'm able to plop my 15" laptop on my and go to town. When I fly it is more of an issue because of the limited space, so I definitely understand why a 13" becomes a better option.
  - m_fayer 10y ago
    Yup. I decide on form-factor primarily based on whether I can easily bring the device on a brisk 30 minute bike commute without sweating (too much).
lmm 10y ago
13.5" is great for portability - my surface book is small enough to slip into a satchel in a way that a larger laptop wouldn't, and light enough to do that with. Before I got it I used to have two laptops (an 11" ultrabook for travel and an 18" gaming laptop), but the surface book replaces both - powerful enough to game on but small enough to transport. I used to be a big fan of the big screens, but you adjust quickly, and the resolution is high which is the main thing; I could keep a screen plugged into my surface dock if I wanted to use a bigger screen at home, though so far I haven't felt the need.
- jetti 10y ago
  I have a close to 4 hour train commute per day and I just bring my 15" laptop on the train with me. I have a laptop section in my backpack so carrying it isn't an issue. Being on the train is typically the only time I bring my laptop out of the house as it is a long ride to work on side projects. If I had to do more travel, especially on a plane, then I could definitely see how a 13.5" screen would be worth it.
- H4CK3RM4N 10y ago
  But the equivalent MacBook is thinner than a lecture pad, and more powerful at most price points.
  - lmm 10y ago
    > But the equivalent MacBook is thinner than a lecture pad Sure, but how much value do you get from that? Weight matters, diagonal matters, but thickness alone makes very little difference unless we're talking about something too thick to fit into a satchel. > and more powerful at most price points. I don't think that's true? The top and bottom end specs are pretty similar IIRC (same RAM, similar processor, similar resolution...), except for the Surface having a touchscreen, and the price points are mostly higher for the MacBook.
0wl3x 10y ago
I agree with you. I use a surface pro 3 as my daily driver but I have two 23" monitors I plug it into. I can only use the 13" screen for movie watching and reading.
- jetti 10y ago
  If you have it plugged into two monitors I'm curious as to why you ended up buying a surface pro.
  - 0wl3x 10y ago
    I bought the SP a while ago, before the two monitors. If I had my druthers I'd go with something more powerful. Either a dedicated desktop rig or a beefier laptop
vidarh 10y ago
15" is way too small for me. Basically it boils down to differences in usage patterns. For my part I have a 17" laptop that is almost exclusively for home office use, a 11" chromebook for meetings or light work away from home, and an 8" tablet for entertainment and the odd emergency ssh session (I can fix servers over ssh from my phone too, but it's not exactly a fun experience). The way I see it, there's no single form-factor that'll keep me happy, so I'd rather go for multiple. I don't think people will ever agree on a single screen size or what other specs actually matters (e.g. I do have an SSD in my laptop, but quickly realises it doesn't really matter what type of storage I have, because I boot, I start Chrome and a bunch of terminals + ssh sessions, and then I rarely touch disk again; meanwhile other people load and store massive files regularly)
- mi100hael 10y ago
  > For my part I have a 17" laptop that is almost exclusively for home office use, a 11" chromebook for meetings or light work away from home, and an 8" tablet for entertainment and the odd emergency ssh session (I can fix servers over ssh from my phone too, but it's not exactly a fun experience). 15" is perfect for all-around use. Plug in an external monitor or two and you won't notice the difference between 17", and it's still plenty portable in any bag that holds more than a tablet.
  - vidarh 10y ago
    Maybe it is for you. It is not for me. I used a 15" for years, and I'll never use a 15" again. Plugging in an external monitor was a workaround that helped when I was at a desk, but much of the time I much prefer to have my laptop actually on my lap in a comfortable chair or on the couch, where external monitors is not an option. And it's still way too big for my travel needs. Yes, it fits in my bag, but I regularly have other things I want to take with me too. So back to my point: It depends on your usage pattern.
- jetti 10y ago
  I'm curious as to why you don't just have a desktop for home office. I wouldn't be able to use the 11" chromebook, especially coming from a 17" screen.

by jetti 10y ago

ghaff 10y ago

It's a function of how you use your computer. I travel a lot and find 13" is a pretty good compromise between portability and usability. No way would I travel with a 15". I do sometimes just go with a small Asus Flip Chromebook but with the knowledge that I can't use it for everything.

jetti 10y ago
I think it also depends on how you travel. I have a 4 hour commute each day but it is on the train. I'm lucky enough to be at the first stop each way so I typically get a seat and the train is typically empty enough so I get a seat to myself. Because of that I'm able to plop my 15" laptop on my and go to town. When I fly it is more of an issue because of the limited space, so I definitely understand why a 13" becomes a better option.
- m_fayer 10y ago
  Yup. I decide on form-factor primarily based on whether I can easily bring the device on a brisk 30 minute bike commute without sweating (too much).

lmm 10y ago

13.5" is great for portability - my surface book is small enough to slip into a satchel in a way that a larger laptop wouldn't, and light enough to do that with. Before I got it I used to have two laptops (an 11" ultrabook for travel and an 18" gaming laptop), but the surface book replaces both - powerful enough to game on but small enough to transport. I used to be a big fan of the big screens, but you adjust quickly, and the resolution is high which is the main thing; I could keep a screen plugged into my surface dock if I wanted to use a bigger screen at home, though so far I haven't felt the need.

jetti 10y ago
I have a close to 4 hour train commute per day and I just bring my 15" laptop on the train with me. I have a laptop section in my backpack so carrying it isn't an issue. Being on the train is typically the only time I bring my laptop out of the house as it is a long ride to work on side projects. If I had to do more travel, especially on a plane, then I could definitely see how a 13.5" screen would be worth it.
H4CK3RM4N 10y ago
But the equivalent MacBook is thinner than a lecture pad, and more powerful at most price points.
- lmm 10y ago
  > But the equivalent MacBook is thinner than a lecture pad Sure, but how much value do you get from that? Weight matters, diagonal matters, but thickness alone makes very little difference unless we're talking about something too thick to fit into a satchel. > and more powerful at most price points. I don't think that's true? The top and bottom end specs are pretty similar IIRC (same RAM, similar processor, similar resolution...), except for the Surface having a touchscreen, and the price points are mostly higher for the MacBook.

0wl3x 10y ago

I agree with you. I use a surface pro 3 as my daily driver but I have two 23" monitors I plug it into. I can only use the 13" screen for movie watching and reading.

jetti 10y ago
If you have it plugged into two monitors I'm curious as to why you ended up buying a surface pro.
- 0wl3x 10y ago
  I bought the SP a while ago, before the two monitors. If I had my druthers I'd go with something more powerful. Either a dedicated desktop rig or a beefier laptop

vidarh 10y ago

15" is way too small for me. Basically it boils down to differences in usage patterns. For my part I have a 17" laptop that is almost exclusively for home office use, a 11" chromebook for meetings or light work away from home, and an 8" tablet for entertainment and the odd emergency ssh session (I can fix servers over ssh from my phone too, but it's not exactly a fun experience). The way I see it, there's no single form-factor that'll keep me happy, so I'd rather go for multiple. I don't think people will ever agree on a single screen size or what other specs actually matters (e.g. I do have an SSD in my laptop, but quickly realises it doesn't really matter what type of storage I have, because I boot, I start Chrome and a bunch of terminals + ssh sessions, and then I rarely touch disk again; meanwhile other people load and store massive files regularly)

mi100hael 10y ago
> For my part I have a 17" laptop that is almost exclusively for home office use, a 11" chromebook for meetings or light work away from home, and an 8" tablet for entertainment and the odd emergency ssh session (I can fix servers over ssh from my phone too, but it's not exactly a fun experience). 15" is perfect for all-around use. Plug in an external monitor or two and you won't notice the difference between 17", and it's still plenty portable in any bag that holds more than a tablet.
- vidarh 10y ago
  Maybe it is for you. It is not for me. I used a 15" for years, and I'll never use a 15" again. Plugging in an external monitor was a workaround that helped when I was at a desk, but much of the time I much prefer to have my laptop actually on my lap in a comfortable chair or on the couch, where external monitors is not an option. And it's still way too big for my travel needs. Yes, it fits in my bag, but I regularly have other things I want to take with me too. So back to my point: It depends on your usage pattern.
jetti 10y ago
I'm curious as to why you don't just have a desktop for home office. I wouldn't be able to use the 11" chromebook, especially coming from a 17" screen.